Failings
by Phantazm
Summary: The galaxy is (again) in turmoil, and it falls to a single Jedi to stop it if he can. He can't do it alone, but even with the threat of rising darkness, will anyone care enough to stand with him? 'Ware, good reader. Ahead lie spoilers.


_Failings_

The Force had led him here, to this bustling business complex on Narataka Beta, and Luke thought he knew why. More accurately, he hoped he knew why. His former pupil, his _fallen_ pupil, was rising in power in the First Order, likely as not assuming or striving for a position like Darth Vader's in the old Empire. _But why stop there?_ Kylo Ren would doubtless ascend all the way to the leadership of the Order if he could, and as he grew in strength in the Force, he could smother the galaxy with a blanket of oppression and terror eclipsing even the Emperor's rule.

To combat him, Luke knew he would need help. The Resistance would do what they could, of course, but the best way to battle Force users was with others of equal or greater skill. Rey had her talents and they were growing, and her friend Finn had great potential as well. Unfortunately, they were both novices, and Ren was certain to have help in the form of the Knights of Ren or even his new master, whoever that was.

 _No, I need...there. There he is._ Seated at a table on the far side of a restaurant was the man Luke sought. Gorok Tel, one of his former students. Gorok seemed intent on a discussion between a Rodian and a Velthumite, making concise gestures with his hands and looking back and forth between them.

Luke adjusted his hood and braced himself. Gorok would never attack him, of course; violence was not his way unless he was pushed into it. Still, the impending confrontation would not be pleasant. Taking a calming, cleansing breath, the Jedi made his way across the floor.

"And now we arrive at the crux of the problem, yes?" Gorok asked, looking at the Velthumite. "Nam Thep wrote out the terms of the contract and you relied on his interpretation of them to influence your signing."

"I did," the Velthumite said. Velthumites looked much like Devaronians, so much so that it had been suggested that one was an offshoot of another after a failed colonizing attempt centuries ago. It was generally considered rude—and dangerous—to mention that in the presence of either race, however. This Velthumite's sharp teeth clicked together in irritation. "I had no reason to doubt his honesty."

"Of course not, Laropa," Gorok said. "However, you were duped. I can sense that in Thep's emotions. He led you to sign a contract and he now adheres to the strictest letter of it rather than the spirit of it, which you believed to be binding terms."

There is no deception, Nam Thep countered. Laropa asked what these phrases meant, and I told him.

"The deception is plain because what you said does not match what was delivered," Laropa snarled. "You know this, I know this!"

The delivered goods and services match what the contract states, and that is what matters.

Gorok held up his hands for silence. "Both of you, calm yourselves right now. Laropa, it is unfortunate, but no court in the galaxy will uphold the spirit or intent of any contract. The only enforceable component is what is recorded on that contract, either in ink or electrons."

"But I have been cheated!"

"I'm not arguing that any more than I plan to explain it again. Yes, you were misled, however, the terms of this contract were fulfilled. The next time you undertake a contract, take it to a legal specialist. If it helps, you will both be given a record of this arbitration and it will be entered as a matter of public record here, as well. Either of you may refer to it in the future, whether as a reference for your own use or to warn other parties of any dealings with the other."

"I will appeal this decision!" Laropa snapped.

"There are no appeals in arbitrations on this planet, and you both consented to having me as an arbiter," Gorok said. "You may file a legal action in the courts on the planet where you signed this document, but you won't do any better there than you did here. My final decision is that there was no breach of contract, although it is my opinion that Nam Thep's actions were deceptive."

"Then you agree I was tricked!"

Gorok sighed. "No. You still had the option of consulting a legal specialist but opted to take the easy way and just take Nam Thep's word. Keep in mind also that my opinion has no legal standing here or on the planet where you signed this contract. Had you signed your contract here or, where was that, Pentakus Minor, my opinion would have been sufficient to nullify this contract."

"Then I have no recourse?"

"Not really," Gorok replied. "As this matter is now concluded, I will send a copy of these proceedings—which I have recorded pursuant to the doctrines of Kalgol, the planet on which this contested contract was signed—to the appropriate offices. You may access and download your copies within two standard business days."

Satisfied, the Rodian quickly left, and Laropa followed soon enough, although with much less alacrity. Gorok watched the Velthumite leave with a tinge of regret. Gorok's skills in the Force were sufficient to discern the truth behind another person's words, making him a successful arbiter, but he sometimes found himself wishing that he could find it in himself to use his powers to influence minds. People like Laropa would be victims far less often. He certainly had the skills for it.

 _Yes, but I couldn't do that to someone, just take over their mind and make them my servant or do my will. Jedi teachings aside, it's just not right._

"And speaking of Jedi," he said to the presence behind him. "What do you want?"

"Good afternoon, Gorok," Luke said softly.

"What do you want? Or was that your answer to my question? You want a good afternoon?"

"May I sit?"

Still not looking at Luke, Gorok snorted. "If it were in my power to stop you, I would. Since it's not, I believe you're going to, anyway."

Luke took a chair on the opposite side of the table. "Can we speak for a moment, please?"

"About what, for what purpose, and for how long?"

"About you, for one thing."

Gorok sat back in his chair, his hands flat on the table, and stared at Luke. Luke, in turn, appraised his former student. Gorok appeared in fine shape, his darkly tanned skin showed the glow of health and his glittering black eyes took in every detail they saw. His head was clean shaven except for a long, braided queue that began over his forehead and bisected his head, trailing backwards to dangle to his mid-back. The forearm of his left sleeve bulged with what Luke knew was a concealed lightsaber.

"I'm here, I'm fine, and I'm busy. Now that we've covered 'about me,' why are you here?" Gorok's arms crossed. "And by the way, 'how long' extends until the instant we've finished the 'why.'"

"You're still angry at me?" Luke sounded disappointed but not quite surprised. "I suppose I should have expected that. You were always..."

"Shut up, _Master,_ " Gorok snarled. "You have no idea what I was 'always' like. Hell, you barely spent twelve years on me."

Luke nodded in submission. "Then for the time I knew you, you were this way. To the point, little patience with formality and fluff...with time, you'd have been an excellent Jedi consular."

"Never gonna know, are we?"

"I understand your anger, Gorok."

"But you won't know the depth of it," the other replied. "Not unless we sit around and chat and that's not going to happen. You're also running out of time to tell me why you're here. You have fifteen seconds at most then I'm headed to my ship."

"Then here is my reason. Kylo Ren. He is creating a disturbance in the Force so severe I think he may be on his way to becoming another Emperor, or at least another Darth Vader."

"Okay. That's nice. Eight. Seven. Six..."

"I need your help to stop him."

Gorok stopped. "Is this a Jedi comedy routine or something? Your humor is weak in the Force, or the Force is weak in your humor. Either way, you should get off the stage."

"I am as serious as I can be," Luke said. "I know that my history with you and the other students is...I was going to say 'regrettable,' but that doesn't cover it."

"My translation matrix has about fourteen million distinct languages and communications modalities with about a hundred subsets and dialects of each and I'd be hard pressed to find a word that does." Gorok put his hands on the table. "You don't need my help."

"Yes, I do. Kylo is getting his training from someone else. I can handle Kylo, certainly. Possibly even his mentor, whoever that is, but not both together. I need someone at least as skilled as Kylo to back me."

Now Gorok tapped a communication panel built into the table. He ordered a drink for himself and shut off the screen. "You had your chance. Handle this yourself."

"I can't. I'll be aided by the Resistance, who will confront the First Order while I go after Kylo and his master. You, or whoever follows me, will help me with the Force users we encounter."

"Someone better change the selection on the music tracks," Gorok said. "I've heard something like this before. Weren't we supposed to be the first generation of new Jedi, me and Kylo and the rest? What did you have, ten of us all told? We were going to protect order and the Republic, guide the galaxy into a bright and prosperous and blah blah blah future."

Luke nodded. "Yes, we were. And we still can."

"By 'we' you refer to yourself and the _moklo_ in your pocket, I assume?"

"No, I refer to me and you, or me and whichever students wish to rejoin me."

Gorok's drink arrived and he tipped the waitbeing. Studying the glass' contents before sipping them, he asked, "You think any of us will follow you again? We tried that."

"Your training wasn't ended, it was delayed," Luke said.

"And we weren't abandoned, we were...oh, wait. We _were_ abandoned. I can't formulate excuses like you. I'm so jealous of that."

Luke's patience was extensive, but not infinite, particularly when he was racing time. "Gorok, listen to me. You don't owe me that, but I ask you that. Please."

"I can start that timer any time, and it's already on 'two,' so make it good. And I mean the kind of good that makes galaxy-wide news."

Luke bowed his head for a moment before he spoke. "Kylo was...his turning to the dark side was what I'd dreaded the most when I undertook his training. He is the grandson of Darth Vader, and I knew that even though there was good in him as there was in Vader, there was evil, as well, and I took it upon myself to train him..."

 _I thought I could train him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong..._

He stopped for a moment at the echo of Kenobi's voice, then shook his head. Across the table, Gorok frowned at Luke over his drink. Luke knew the other had sensed something, maybe even heard the words, but no matter now. "I defeated the evil in Vader, and I thought I could quench it in Kylo before it ever developed, but I failed. In that failing, I betrayed not only my nephew, but my sister and my best friend. Worse, I failed my masters and may have unleashed another Sith upon the galaxy."

Gorok was scowling at Luke. "Unbelievable. All that Jedi insight and connection to the Force and you are so incredibly wrong."

"You don't understand what I'm saying."

"Yes, I do. Let me educate you, _Master_ Luke. You didn't betray your teachers or your relatives because one of them fell to the dark side. That happens. People do it every day, even those who don't use the Force. You get corrupt politicians, contractors who take bribes to cut corners, thugs and bullies, dirty police, everything. It's just more noticeable and potentially worse when a Jedi screws it up."

"Gorok, listen to me. As a Jedi, it falls to me to teach Force-sensitives how to use their powers, how to use them for the good of all. I didn't do that with Kylo."

"You taught, but he didn't learn. And you're not listening to me or yourself. You put an opportunity before him and did your best, but _he_ failed _you._ Do you understand that? He betrayed you and your teachings, not the other way around."

"You could interpret it that way, as well."

"Remember that story you told about 'certain points of view?' Hell of a time you picked to forget it."

Luke managed a rueful laugh. "No, I remembered it through all this. Particularly when I last spoke to Kylo."

"Not that it's any of my business," Gorok said. "So let's try not to tell me."

"You have more to say, though."

"Yeah, I do. You want to talk about betrayals and failing people, but you missed the target completely. You didn't fail Kylo. You failed _us_. You failed the other nine students that you suckered into leaving their families and worlds so we could form the new Jedi Order." Gorok set his glass down a bit harder than he had to and his eyes bored into Luke's, anger into weariness, loss into greater loss. "One of us makes a mistake and what do you do? You run away and hide. You go and 'meditate' and the rest of us are left to do what? You barely left us a hologram that pretty much just said, 'hey, kids, gotta go, back soon, dinner's in the stove, do your homework and don't stay up late.' Then nothing until you walk in here."

"But you did well for yourself. I can feel how strong you are in the Force."

"I'm sure you can. And look how I did what I did. I did it by learning on my own. By teaching myself. I became an arbitrator, and sometimes I do some freelance bounty hunting."

That last gave Luke pause. "While I don't necessarily condemn that, I don't condone it, either."

"Ask if I care," Gorok retorted. "As part of my arbitration duties, I sometimes get called on to track down people who breach their contract or contravene my decisions. The Force helps me do that as much as it helps me arbitrate."

"And you did it," Luke said. "You learned your path, how to use the Force to guide you and carve out your spot in the universe. And you did it without my aid."

"Exactly the damn point! I did it _without you!_ How much better at this could I have been if I'd had a proper teacher? As it is, I have to take what little I know and do what little I can to try to help people. How much more could I have done—how much more could I have _been—_ had you stayed to teach me? How much more good could I be doing?"

A woman came up behind Gorok, a data pad in her hand. She held back, hesitant, looking at both men. Gorok didn't turn but held out his hand. "Thank you, Yuna."

"I can come back later, if you wish," she said.

"Go ahead and take a seat," Gorok said. "Luke was just leaving."

"Luke? Your old teacher?"

"Former teacher, current pain in my side."

Yuna nodded at Luke, her dark, slanted eyes closing briefly. "Excuse my intrusion."

"Not at all," Luke said, nodding in return. "You know a little of the Force, too?"

"She does, and you'll leave it at that," Gorok said sharply.

Luke's graying eyebrows raised. "Is she your wife or partner, then? I didn't mean to insult either of you."

"Yuna is my employee," Gorok said. "Yes, she's a Force-sensitive, but she doesn't use it much. She's a prodigy at coding, record-keeping, and astronavigation. After expenses, I split my fees with her. She's free to quit or leave at any time, so long as she doesn't follow you."

Yuna frowned. "This does seem to be a bad time," she said. "I'll be back in a moment."

As she left, Gorok kept his gaze on Luke. "You're done here. I've said what I needed to say and heard more than I care to. You're on your own, unless you can find one of the others to help you. Try Bala. She's always a sucker for adventure and sob stories, and you have both of those."

Luke stood. "I know you're angry, and I feel the depth and magnitude of your emotions, Gorok. I knew they would be this way before I came here, but I still came. I sought you because of who you are and what you are."

"You need an arbitrator or bounty hunter?"

"No. I need you because even left to your own devices, even 'abandoned' as you say you were, you still know the right thing to do and you do it, even if it seems almost impossible. As you said, in your own way, you do what you can to make the galaxy a better place. That's the kind of person who makes a truly great Jedi, even more so than Force ability." Luke folded his hands before him and looked at his former student. "Did it occur to you that my leaving you alone, leaving you to make your own way, was also part of your training?"

"Once, when I was watching an old martial arts holo, one of those badly-dubbed monstrosities," Gorok said. "One of the characters said something like that. It sounded as stupid then as it does now. But at least your lips matched up with what you said."

Luke's beard twisted. Maybe he thought that was funny, Gorok thought, but nobody cared.

"Thank you for your time, Gorok. I will contact the others, but I'll leave you and Yuna be."

As he walked away, Gorok raised his voice, stilling the conversation at several tables. "You want to do the right thing, Jedi? You ran away once. Just keep running. You ruin what you touch with your unkept promises and improvised teaching. Just keep moving on out of here and go back to whatever bridge you were dwelling under before you betray the galaxy like you did us."

The robed Jedi said nothing but continued on his way. Yuna returned a moment later. "Sir, you turned down a chance to be a Jedi."

"I had the chance taken from me," Gorok corrected, reactivating the ordering screen. "Hello. I need two platters of _urubuk_ barbecue skewers, extra rice; a large order of noodles with extra _chikchi_ sauce—very hot, please—and a liter of Forvish ale." He muted the screen and turned to Yuna. "You want anything?"

She wasn't looking at him but was staring out the window. Gorok looked and scowled. Luke was standing outside the restaurant, still gazing at Gorok and Yuna. He wasn't reaching out with Jedi senses, trying to influence either of them. He was just staring. Then he finally left.

"What was he doing?" Yuna asked.

"Trying to make a point or something," Gorok said, ordering a bowl of noodles, chili pepper-marinated eel, and a diet short beer for Yuna.

"You still won't go?"

Gorok sat and glared at the table. _In your own way, you do what you can to make the galaxy a better place. You learned your path, how to use the Force to guide you...and you did it without my aid._ And he had thought earlier that if he used his powers, people could stop being victims.

 _No,_ Gorok thought angrily. _A Jedi mind trick without the Force. He's trying to manipulate me._ _I won't do it._

As his ship lifted off, Luke felt a subtle change in the Force. It was as if a decision had been made, and the Jedi relaxed. Things would unfold as the Force guided them, and he felt confident that events would proceed for the better.

 _Still, even though the Force will guide things, sometimes it needs a little nudge now and then to get rolling,_ he smiled.

-oOo-

Now for the explanations _**and more spoilers**_ **.** It's obviously way too early in the new trilogy to know what's what, so I'm just throwing in a "what if" for fun's sake.

By now we know Luke tried to teach Ben Solo the ways of the Jedi and somehow didn't quite manage it. And while I can believe that Luke Skywalker would have tried to tutor new generations of Jedi, I have a really hard time believing that he'd take on just one padawan. It would make more sense that he'd take on a few students, no more than a handful, and start teaching the new generation that way rather than one-on-one. It would take forever to bring about new Jedi if he had to spend his life teaching students one at a time. He'd have time for what, three? Four at the most? I figure he'll pick from the most gifted Force users he can find, ones with what he feels

That's where this story comes from. We know Luke had his heroic bluescreen of death and retreated to meditate or seek a Jedi temple or whatever because of Kylo Ren falling to the dark side. We also see him coming back—come on, you know he's coming back...wouldn't be Star Wars without him—but what's his plan when he does come back? We know he won't handle it alone, so here we go.

(And if J.J. Abrams is reading this, you can use this. Just pay me in lightsabers.)


End file.
